quinoa cakes. and oh look, a recipe
Oh, did we say we didn’t have time to post recipes anymore? Bah, don’t listen to anything I say. Although this was the second time we made these and the second attempt to post a recipe, and I believe Mark make these quinoa cakes again solely for the purpose of writing the recipe down even though I told him that I had already announced on the blog that I had given up hope of ever posting a recipe again. He probably did this just to annoy me.
So you know, quinoa. I’m a lukewarm fan. I know it’s good for me so I’ll gladly eat it, especially since it’s a good flavor sponge for anything it’s cooked with, but I never got really excited for quinoa until Mark made them into little cakes, like crab cakes. The outside is lightly crispy and proves once again that just about anything tastes good when it’s fried. We ate them as sides with our dinner both times, but my impulse the first time I tried them was to put a poached egg on top for breakfast. We had one left over from this batch and guess what? My instinct was right. It’s *perfect* for poached eggs (Mark wants you to know that he hates poached eggs and runny eggs in general and would never eat them this way).
Quinoa Cakes (makes 8-12 cakes, depending on size)
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa, washed and drained
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
black pepper to taste
1 cup Panko Japanese breadcrumbs, for coating
1/2 cup olive oil
Bring the broth to a boil in a small saucepan, then add the quinoa. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fully cooked. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Let cool for a few minutes. Gently mix in the parmesan cheese, egg yolk, salt and pepper. Form into patties about 3-4 inches in diameter. Chill them in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Gently press each side of the quinoa cakes in the breadcrumbs to give each a light coating. Fry in batches for several minutes on each side, until golden brown and crispy. Let them cool on paper towels, and serve immediately.
thanks for a great idea.